Friction-reducing heel tab for oxfords



3mm W50 E. A. GIERSCH -REDUCING HEEL TAB FOR OXFORDS FRICTION Filed Nov. 12, 1947 EWALD GIERSQH Emwmor Cllsrwus Patented Jan. 31, 1950 FRICTION-REDUCING HEEL TAB FOR ()XFORDS .Ewald A. Gi'ersch, Seattle, Wash.

Application November 12, 1947, Serial No. 785,437

1 My present invention relates to the general art of shoe making, and more particularly to a friction-reducing heel tab for Oxfords.

Production records on shoes show that in dress shoes the greatest production is in the form of oxfords or similar styles of low shoes. These shoes of necessity must fit snugly at the heels in order to hold the shoe securely on the foot in walking. Further, low shoes are usually worn with a dress style of socks or stockings, which are of sheerer materials than those formerly associated with the high-topped shoes. It is because of these reasons that considerable difliculty is experienced by the wearers of those shoes on one or two scores. The first is, that considerable pressure is exerted on the Achilles tendon and the associated muscles and skin, at the upper heel margin of the shoe. This causes, many times, considerable pain and in many instances, actually causes a rupture of the skin, with the threat of possible infection and other difficulties. The second effect of the ordinary style of low shoe is to produce unusual wear on the heel portion of the socks or stockings. This, unfortunately, is the very portion that is most in view. Consequently, any improvement that will obviate the uneven wear of the shoe and prevent wearing through the hose at the upper margin of the shoe, will be a great benefit to wearers of this type of footwear.

I have found that the principal cause of friction in the upper margin of the rear heel is the fact that the shoe is made of a numberof pieces of leather, which are of necessity sewed together at their upper margins. This produces small ends or tabs of the leather which quite often become scufied and tend to separate as far as the stitching will permit. Thus are created the ideal conditions for the production of a maximum of friction as the foot slides slightly up and down in the shoe, as it will in walking. In order to overcome this condition I have provided means whereby a single extra piece of leather is properly positioned so that it entirely shrouds and covers the upwardly extending edges of the shoe leather, so that a smooth leather surface is presented, and thus there will be a minimum of friction throughout the entire life of the shoe.

The principal object of my invention, therefore, is to provide a friction-reducing tab for use in the upper heel margins of the low or oxford-type shoe.

A further object of my present invention is to provide a tab for use on the upper heel margins 2 Claims. (CI. 36-45) of a low shoe which entirely shrouds the upper edges of the plurality of leather pieces making up the heel of the shoe and presents to the wearers foot a smooth sliding surface of a single curved smooth piece of leather.

A further object of my invention is to provide a tab which is sewed to the outer surface of the shoe and then bent around and over into the inside of the shoe where it is passed through a slit in the inner shoe lining, and then secured in place.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from the description and disclosure in the drawings, or may be comprehended or are inherent in the device.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a shoe of the oxford type (in the present illustration a mans shoe), using one of my friction-reducing tabs.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the shoeshown in Fig. 1,:but showing a rear quarter view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of a shoe employing my tab.

Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary vertical sectional views showing steps in the securing of my tab to a shoe.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view taken in the same sense as Figs. 4 and 5, to show my tab in its final completed form.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure in the drawings, the numeral Ill designates generally a shoe of the style to which my device is adaptable. Such low shoes or oxfords are fitted to the heel of the wearer, so that when the lacing I2 is secured in a definite adjusted position to the particular foot, the upper margin Id of the shoe fits securely around the ankle portion of the foot and thus prevents the shoe slipping off the foot. It is not, however, possible to prevent a certain working of the heel within the shoe, and. this normally causes a sliding action to take place, especially in the rear portion of the shoe, in the area generally designated by the reference l5.

While shoes are made of many styles and designs, it is most common to have in the average shoe an outer leather facing l5, and inner lining l8, and disposed between these two form of stifiening, such as the counter mai er The upper margin of the heel of the shoe of normal construction conforms quite closely to the showing of Fig. 4, except for the added tab 22, the construction and placement of which is the subject matter of this present invention. It will be noted that, normally, the counter or stiffening member 29 feathers out towards the top of the heel portion, and the lining and the outer covering of the shoe are joined together, as by stitching 24 near the upper margin of the shoe. This, however, leaves the two ends or edges, as 28 and 2B, of the normal shoe construction, unsupported for a short space above stitching 24, and experience has indicated that there is a natural tendency for the lining memberZS to have its upper end roll slightly over stitching 24. It provides a heel-engaging point or line causing a marked degree of friction.

In order to overcome this prevalent condition,

I provide an additional construction member,

which fully covers these exposed ends or edges, and prevents any turn-back of the lining tip. This tab member 22 is stitched through at the upper margin of the heel, as at 15, with the flesh side of the leather outermost, or to the right, as viewed in Fig. 4c. The next step is to slit lining I8, as at 38, using a diagonal cut, as will be observed in Figs. 5 and 6. Tab 22 is then turned up and over the upper ends or edges 26 and 28 after the showing of Fig. 5, and finally'the extreme end of tab 22, as 3|, is inserted through slit 30 and brought down snugly on the upper ends or edges at 26 and 28, after the showing of Fig. 6. Stitching is then completed, as at 33, which holds the new tab produced, as 35, in below the natural curve of tab 22, as shown at and ihe whole device is in its permanent usable posiion.

It is to be understood, in studying the various views, that for the sake of clarity of illustration, the leather of tab 22 has been shown of considerable thickness. Actually, it should be a thin piece of selected leather having a very smooth hair side and should be formed very snugly over the top of the heel, so that in efiect its dimensions will be materially less than that shown throughout my various views. It is highly desirable that the outer surface, as 38, of tab 22 be the smooth hair side of the leather, so that the heel contacting and rubbing point, as 40, will be of a leather that will polish, and thus, as it presents a very smooth contact surface, friction will be reduced to a minimum.

Throughout my specification, I have referred to leather as the material for tab 22 and to stitching as the securing means therefore. It should be considered, however, that tab 22 should conform in material to the material of the shoe, and that certain of the various adhesives can be considered as the equivalent of stitching.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and the disclosure in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction of a friction-reducing heel tab for oxfords.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

1. The combination with a low shoe or oxford of the type having an outer facing and an inner lining, of a friction-reducing heel tab, consisting of: a thin oblong tab of anti-frictional material; one end of said tab being secured transversely to the outer surface of the outer facing; a transverse slit in the inner lining of the heel appreciably below the upper margin of the inner lining and adapted to allow insertion of the other end of the tab between the inner lining and the outer facing; the other end of said tab being inserted downwardly through said slot between the outer facing and the inner lining; said tab end being secured between the outer facing and the inner lining; and the exposed margin of said slit being secured to the adjacent portion of said tab.

2. The combination with a low shoe or oxford of the type having an outer facing and an inner facing, of a friction-reducing heel tab, consisting of a thin oblong tab of anti-frictional material, having one feathered end and one end of normal thickness; the latter end of said tab being stitched transversely to the outer surface of the outer facing with the edge of said end contiguous to the upper edge of. the outer facing; a transverse slit in the inner lining of the heel appreciably below the upper margin of the inner lining and adapted to allow insertion of the feathered end of said tab between the inner lining and the outer facing; the feathered end of said tab being inserted downwardly through said slot between the outer facing and the inner lining; and stitching for securing saidfeathered end of the tab in said space and for securing the exposed margin of said slit in close engagement with the heel structure of the shoe.

EWALD A. GIERISCH.

' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS DAlessandro Nov. 30, 1937 

